We need to talk about leaving Europe

British withdrawal from the European Union would be a huge event. The
organisers of the new Brexit prize may be guilty of a little hyperbole when
they say it would be comparable to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the
subsequent collapse of Soviet communism but they are not wrong to emphasise
its importance. A referendum decision that we could be taking in a few
years’ time could profoundly change Britain and Europe.

The Brexit prize, under the auspices of the Institute of Economic Affairs,
offers €100,000 (£86,000) for the best blueprint for Britain outside the EU.
The judging panel is chaired by Lord Lawson, the former chancellor, who in
today’s Sunday Times repeats his view that, freed from the shackles of EU
membership, Britain would prosper.

Not everyone, of course, will agree. Ahead of the publication this week of the
first phase of the government’s review of the